ScottyPedia: Baggage

Do you watch the Game Show Network? I do. Have done so since its early days in the late 90s. My favourites are the The Match Game (from the 70s) and any edition of Family Feud (the ones with Steve Harvey are absolutely hilarious!).

The show I want to discuss however is Baggage, Hosted by none other than Jerry Springer - Mr Bacchanal himself! Baggage is a 30-minute show that puts a unique spin on the dating game. The basic premise of the show is for a contestant to make the choice at attempting a relationship with someone that they know up front has some secret personal issues aka baggage.

Female competitors on Baggage.

The show starts off with the main contestant, speaking about himself/herself and generally glad for the opportunity, via the show, to enter into a potential relationship with someone (of the opposite sex, of course, although I know there was a single gay episode; interracial possibilities, once very taboo for the dating game show genre, feature quite more often). The three competitors of the opposite sex are introduced, with each of them acknowledging that they come with "baggage", as in literally three cases of increasing size with their personal issues, of similar magnitudes, written on the inside. The contestant also has baggage, about which three possibilities are teasingly displayed at the start of the show.

Host Jerry Springer (left) surveys the competitors with this male contestant.

The smallest baggage usually comprises things that might be considered mildly annoying habits or unusual quirks that are benign, like nose-picking, bathing multiple times per day, collecting toys or an inconvenient preference/distaste for a particular substance (only eats light coloured cake). Usually it is fun stuff that only the most superficial would use as a reason not to go out on a date with someone.

An example of small baggage.

Believe it or not, this competitor's culinary love of pure butter is in fact considered her smallest baggage.

The medium-sized baggage are things that usually cause problems even amongst good friends. Among these are things like admittedly sleeping with married people, one-time only embarrassing jobs/events, using your looks to gain unfair advantages or something from your childhood that you aren't exactly proud of. One of them I found most interesting was a woman who compulsively smells her own breast sweat. Yes, she dabs at her pectoral perspiration from her ample cleavage for periodic quality-control whiffs.

Medium-sized baggage - one girl here still plays with her Barbie dolls and the other compulsively picks at her healing scabs.

The competitor in blue practices witchcraft and the one in grey beds down nightly with her seven dogs.

The largest baggage are the kinds of things that you would be hesitant to have your parents or religious leader know about. They are things that have been known to irretrievably break relationships when they come to light. Among some of these I've seen are things like once being an adult film star, being a multiple-time runaway bride, having orgy-type sexual experiences, having a prior homosexual experience, sharing a bed with a relative, having slept with the parent/sibling of your boyfriend/girlfriend, non-traditional personal beliefs and even past criminal records.

Large baggage - this competitor not only broke off three different engagements but kept the rings from each!

The first round allows these competitors to introduce themselves to the contestant, with each of them trying to appeal to the contestant by answering questions provided by the host. After this, the competitors reveal and discuss their smallest baggage with the contestant. All the while the contestant mentally assesses the competitors.

Might be a frightful sight for you to awaken to but her baggage is that she sleeps with a ski mask on.

Then begins the second round, where the competitors' medium-sized baggage is revealed to the contestant, without identifying the respective owners. This is where the contestant chooses the "deal-breaker" - the baggage out of the three that he/she cannot accept in a potential date. The competitors then identify with their baggage and the deal-breaker baggage is eliminated. the deal-breaker leaves just after revealing what would have been his/her largest baggage.

These male competitors are lined up with their respective medium-sized baggage.

The third round is down to the two remaining competitors, each discussing and defending their medium-sized baggage. The contestant gets to know them better through some personal questions put to them by the host. the competitors then reveal their largest baggage and make one final, compelling statement each to the contestant. The one with the baggage that offends the contestant more is eliminated.

A female contestant chose to accept this male competitor's predilection to full blown clown sex!

Now here is the twist. The contestant has just decided upon the competitor whose baggage he/she feels is manageable. The competitor is now told which of the three baggages mentioned at the start of the show belongs to the contestant. the contestant now has to discuss and defend his/her baggage. If the competitor can accept the contestant's baggage, the couple wins an all-expenses-covered evening out, courtesy of the Baggage crew. If the competitor cannot reconcile that baggage, the two of them part ways.

This contestant reveals his baggage to his chosen female competitor - he is jobless, car-less and lives on his brother's couch!

Baggage is a huge ratings success for GSN. The current season, a travelling series titled Baggage On The Road, averages well over half a million viewers per episode, making it GSN's highest-rated weekday series. It seems that shows hosted by Jerry Springer are destined to be controversial but well-watched, regardless of the format.

GSN's highest rated daytime show to date!

What I'd like to ask is what do you think of this kind of show? Could an equivalent of this show exist in T&T? Have we matured enough as a society to be able to so openly and readily discuss our baggage? Are we ready to accept and even love people with the kind of baggage you hear about on the show? How would we treat certain people after becoming aware of the baggage they have? Can you fancy yourself being a contestant or competitor on Baggage?